Abbas signs treaty to join International Criminal Court

Following defeat at the UN Security Council, The Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas sends requests to join 20 international treaties – including the Rome Statute.

Abbas had held off in the past on acceding to the Rome Statute, which allows the Palestinian government to present charges against Israel in the International Criminal Court (ICC) reported Mondoweiss

The Guardian reports: The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, dramatically moved to join the international criminal court on Wednesday, setting Palestinians on a diplomatic collision course with Israel and Washington, and risking imposition of US sanctions.

Abbas signed the Rome statute governing the court and 19 other international agreements, potentially opening the way to Palestinians to pursue Israel for war crimes in the court of last resort based in The Hague.

It followed the rejection by the UN security council of a Jordanian-backed resolution on behalf of Palestine calling for the end to the Israeli occupation by 2017 and the establishment of a Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders.

Abbas’s move came at the end of 24 hours of diplomatic tension when – under pressure from other members of the Palestinian leadership – he followed through on his long-threatened plan to join the ICC.